USS Saidor

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USS SAIDOR (CVE-117).jpg
USS Saidor (CVE-117) c. 1945
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Saidor
Namesake Landing at Saidor
Builder Todd Pacific Shipyards
Laid down29 September 1944
Launched17 March 1945
Commissioned4 September 1945
Decommissioned12 September 1947
Reclassified
  • Helicopter Carrier, CVHE-117, 12 June 1955
  • Cargo Ship and Aircraft Ferry, AKV-17, 7 May 1959
Stricken1 December 1970
FateSold 22 October 1971, and scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type Commencement Bay-class escort carrier
Displacement21,397 long tons (21,740  t)
Length557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) loa
Beam75 ft (23 m)
Draft32 ft (9.8 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement1,066
Armament
Aircraft carried33
Aviation facilities2 × aircraft catapults

USS Saidor (CVE-117) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy.

Contents

Design

In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay class, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. [1]

Saidor was 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) long overall, with a beam of 75 ft (23 m) at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft 2 in (32.05 m) at maximum. She displaced 21,397 long tons (21,740 t) at full load, of which 12,876 long tons (13,083 t) could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft 11 in (8.51 m). The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men. [2]

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16,000  shp (12,000 kW) for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23,900 nautical miles (44,300 km; 27,500 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [2]

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm (2 in) Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm (1 in) Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck. [2]

Service history

Originally named the Saltery Bay, she was renamed on 5 June 1944, was laid down on 29 September 1944 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Washington; launched on 17 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Walter F. Boone; and commissioned on 4 September 1945, Capt. A. P. Storrs in command.

Following shakedown off the United States west coast, she served at Pearl Harbor from 12 December 1945 to 20 March 1946. Sailing via the Panama Canal, she operated at Norfolk, Va., from 16 April to 22 April, before returning via the Panama Canal to the west coast. Departing San Diego on 6 May, Saidor arrived at Bikini on the 24th to serve as a photographic laboratory for the atomic bomb testing program, Operation Crossroads. She processed film, documenting the destructive power of atomic weapons on selected targets at various ranges, during the nuclear explosions of 1 July and 25 July. She departed Bikini on 4 August and returned to San Diego where she remained into 1947, when she began inactivation.

Saidor was decommissioned on 12 September 1947 and berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. Reclassified CVHE-117 on 12 June 1955, and AKV-17 on 7 May 1959, she remained in the Reserve Fleet until 1 December 1970 when she was struck from the Navy list. She was sold to American Ship Dismantlers, Portland, Oreg., for scrapping on 22 October 1971.

Notes

  1. ↑ Friedman, pp. 107–111.
  2. 1 2 3 Friedman, p. 111.

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References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .

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